Afídeos (Hemiptera: Aphididae) e inimigos naturais associados ao brócolis, brassica olerace var. Italica Plenck e couve-flor brassica oleracea var. Botrytis L. cultivados sob manejo orgãnico e convencional

Orientador: Luís Amilton FoersterCoorientadora: Augusta Karkow DoetzerMonografia (Bacharelado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná. Setor de Ciências Biológicas. Curso de Graduação em Ciências BiológicasResumo : Foi realizado um levantamento das espécies de afídeos (Hemíptera: Aphididae) e inimigos naturais associados à cultura de brócolis e couve-flor. Foram observadas semanalmente duas áreas adjacentes de cultivo com manejo orgânico e convencional produtoras de brócolis e couve-flor localizadas no município de Colombo/PR de setembro de 2007 a novembro de 2008. As espécies de afídeos encontradas foram Myzus persicae Sulzer, o pulgão-verde-do-pessegueiro e Brevicoryne brassicae L., o pulgão-da-couve, o qual foi predominante em todas as culturas: 74,7% de ocorrência em brócolis orgânico; 71,4% e 55,6% na couve-flor orgânica e convencional respectivamente. A cultura do brócolis orgânico foi significativamente mais atacada que as demais, porém, sem que isso provocasse perdas na produção. A flutuação populacional das pragas foi bastante influenciada pelos fatores meteorológicos de temperatura e precipitação. No verão a ocorrência foi pequena, o que corrobora com estudos que mostram que períodos de estiagem e temperaturas moderadas são mais propícios para o desenvolvimento de ambas as espécies. Himenópteros parasitóides foram os inimigos naturais mais comuns com predominância de Diaeretiella rapae e Praon sp. e de hiperparasitóides do gênero Alloxysta. A ocorrência das múmias acompanhou a flutuação populacional das espécies dos afídeos hospedeiros. Larvas e adultos de insetos afidófagos das famílias Syrphidae (Díptera) e Coccinelidae (Coleoptera) foram encontrados em pequenas quantidades e apenas nas culturas de manejo orgânico. A ação de fatores abióticos pode ter exercido maior influência na dinâmica populacional das pragas do que a forma de manejo empregada

Detecção de predação intraguilda de Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera : Coccinellidae) através da espectroscopia no infravermelho próximo

Resumo: A Espectroscopia do Infravermelho Próximo (NIRS) é uma técnica que analisa a composição molecular mediante a reflexão da luz no infravermelho (12500 cm-1 a 4000 cm-1) do espectro eletromagnético). Na metabolômica pode ser utilizada como uma ferramenta rápida e não invasiva capaz de diferenciar organismos pelo perfil metabólico. Aqui, esta técnica detectou a predação intraguilda (IGP) pela análise de conteúdo intestinal e fecal do predador Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Exemplares de H. axyridis adultos de ambos os sexos foram alimentados com refeições contendo misturas de adultos de Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) e ovos de Chrysoperla externa (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae). As refeições reproduziam níveis de IGP de 0, 25, 50, 75 e 100% dados pela concentração de ovos de C. externa. Foram obtidos espectros de reflectância difusa de 100 amostras de macerados das refeições, 100 de intestinos e 100 das fezes do predador utilizando um espectrofotômetro FT-IR Vertex 70. Foi analisada a faixa compreendida de 8000 cm-1 a 4000 cm-1, com intervalo de 2 cm-1 e 32 varreduras. As análises foram feitas pelo Unscrambler v. 9.7, os espectros foram transformados de transmitância para absorbância, seguida de correção da linha base, e correção multiplicativa do sinal (log 1/R BL MSC). A Análise de Componentes Principais (PCA) dos espectros dos macerados revelou um padrão de distinção entre amostras homogêneas (0 e 100%) e heterogêneas (25, 50 e 75%) que se repetiu na análise do conteúdo intestinal e de fezes. A divisão entre amostras homogêneas e heterogêneas encontrada na análise exploratória foi utilizada como valor de referência para calibrar modelos de Partial Least Squares (PLS) e Análise Discriminante Linear (LDA). Ambos os algoritmos geraram modelos com altos valores de validação de amostras externas com macerados (100%), conteúdo intestinal (90%) e conteúdo fecal (100%). O PLS foi bem sucedido em distinguir M. persicae e C. externa com 100% de sucesso na validação de amostras externas com amostras de macerados, intestinos e fezes. Estes resultados mostram que a técnica foi capaz de predizer a ocorrência de IGP em condições de laboratório. Foi inclusive possível distinguir entre alimento fresco, conteúdo intestinal e fecal. Isto sugere que mesmo após as transformações sofridas pelo alimento na passagem através do sistema digestivo, ainda é possível recuperar informações suficientes sobre a composição do alimento e da resposta metabólica do predador para reconhecer possíveis fontes alimentares

Vertical-Vibration Suppressing Design of Accumulator with New Vibration-Measuring Method

A compressor was developed using R32 which was a low GWP R32 refrigerant for coping with global warming. However, there is a tendency for vibrations of a compressor to also increase because the circulation of refrigerant increases according to specification for using R32 refrigerant. Since large vibrations of a compressor causes outdoor units to generate solid propagation sound, there is a need for a technology that can reduce vibration of a compressor. However, a vibration-measuring method to analyze such vibration had not been fully developed and it was difficult to specify the cause. Accordingly, a new vibration-measuring method was developed specifically for compressors. The use of this measuring method allowed to discover that one of the unresolved problems with sound of outdoor units was the vertical vibration of the accumulator housed in the compressor. Moreover, it was found that the accumulator vibrates vertically due to the acoustic resonance inside the casing, which led to develop a new (accumulator) design with a focus on resonance. There is a type of spatial resonance inside an accumulator that has a phase difference with the antinode of sound pressure appearing at the upper and lower ends of the space. The vertical force caused by the difference in the sound pressure becomes excitation force, which then causes vertical vibration of the accumulator. Therefore, preventing this resonance from occurring can help suppress the vertical vibration. In order to prevent the generation of resonance, a plate-shaped reflection member was placed inside the accumulator, and it proved to be effective in suppressing the vertical vibration

High-speed simulation of PCB emission and immunity with frequency-domain IC/LSI source models

Some recent results from research conducted in the EMC group at Okayama University are reviewed. A scheme for power-bus modeling with an analytical method is introduced. A linear macro-model for ICs/LSIs, called the LECCS model, has been developed for EMI and EMS simulation. This model has a very simple structure and is sufficiently accurate. Combining the LECCS model with analytical simulation techniques for power-bus resonance simulation provides a method for high-speed EMI simulation and decoupling evaluation related to PCB and LSI design. A useful explanation of the common-mode excitation mechanism, which utilizes the imbalance factor of a transmission line, is also presented. Some of the results were investigated by implementing prototypes of a high-speed EMI simulator, HISES. </p

Percutaneous coronary intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: Insights from the nationwide registration data.

[Background] Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has negatively affected access to healthcare systems and treatment timelines. This study was designed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). [Methods] From January 2019 to December 2020, 489, 001 patients from 1068 institutions were registered in the Japanese nationwide PCI (J-PCI) registry. We constructed generalized linear models to assess the difference in the daily number of patients and in-hospital outcomes between 2019 and 2020. [Findings] In total, 207 institutions (19·3%) had closed or restricted access during the first COVID-19 outbreak in May 2020; the number of closed or restricted institutions had plateaued at a median of 121 institutions (11·3%). The daily case volume of PCI significantly decreased in 2020 (by 6·7% compared with that in 2019; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6·2–7·2%; p < 0·001). Marked differences in the presentation of PCI patients were observed; more patients presented with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (18·3% vs. 17·5%; p < 0·001), acute heart failure (4·49% vs. 4·30%; p = 0·001), cardiogenic shock (3·79% vs. 3·45%; p < 0·001), and cardiopulmonary arrest (2·12% vs. 2·00%; p = 0·002) in 2020. The excess adjusted in-hospital mortality rate in patients treated in 2020 relative to those treated in 2019 was significant (adjusted odds ratio, 1·054; 95% CI, 1·004–1·107; p = 0·03). [Interpretation] While the number of patients who underwent PCI substantially decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, more patients presented with high-risk characteristics and were associated with significantly higher adjusted in-hospital mortality. [Funding] The J-PCI registry is a registry led and supported by the Japanese Association of Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics. The present study was supported by the Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Health and Labour (No. 20IA2002 and 21FA1015), the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (KAKENHI; No. 21K08064), and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (No. 17ek0210097h000)

Oxidative Stress Management in Chronic Liver Diseases and Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Chronic viral hepatitis B and C and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been widely acknowledged to be the leading causes of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. As anti-viral treatment progresses, the impact of NAFLD is increasing. NAFLD can coexist with chronic viral hepatitis and exacerbate its progression. Oxidative stress has been recognized as a chronic liver disease progression-related and cancer-initiating stress response. However, there are still many unresolved issues concerning oxidative stress, such as the correlation between the natural history of the disease and promising treatment protocols. Recent findings indicate that oxidative stress is also an anti-cancer response that is necessary to kill cancer cells. Oxidative stress might therefore be a cancer-initiating response that should be down regulated in the pre-cancerous stage in patients with risk factors for cancer, while it is an anti-cancer cell response that should not be down regulated in the post-cancerous stage, especially in patients using anti-cancer agents. Antioxidant nutrients should be administered carefully according to the patients' disease status. In this review, we will highlight these paradoxical effects of oxidative stress in chronic liver diseases, pre- and post-carcinogenesis

Management of Cirrhotic Ascites under the Add-on Administration of Tolvaptan

Tolvaptan is a recently available diuretic that blocks arginine vasopressin receptor 2 in the renal collecting duct. Its diuretic mechanism involves selective water reabsorption by affecting the water reabsorption receptor aquaporin 2. Given that liver cirrhosis patients exhibit hyponatremia due to their pseudo-aldosteronism and usage of natriuretic agents, a sodium maintaining agent, such as tolvaptan, is physiologically preferable. However, large scale studies indicating the patients for whom this would be effective and describing management under its use have been insufficient. The appropriate management of cirrhosis patients treated with tolvaptan should be investigated. In the present review, we collected articles investigating the effectiveness of tolvaptan and factors associated with survival and summarized their management reports. Earlier administration of tolvaptan before increasing the doses of natriuretic agents is recommended because this may preserve effective arterial blood volume

Synthesis, structural, spectroscopic and electrochemical studies of carborane substituted naphthyl selenides

[EN] New unsymmetrical selenides bearing an o-carborane and a naphthalene ring as the substituents were prepared by the cleavage of the corresponding diselenides. The compounds were characterized by means of spectroscopic and analytical methods. Se-77 NMR signals of the selenium atoms attached to the carbon atoms of the carborane cages are shifted downfield in comparison to those bonded only to the aromatic rings, indicating an electron withdrawing effect of the o-carboranyl substituent. Compounds 1-(2-R-1,2-dicarba-closo-carboranyl)naphthyl selenides (R = Me, 1; Ph, 2) were characterized by means of single crystal X-ray diffraction. The influence of the electronic nature of the substituents attached to the selenium atoms on the structural parameters and packing properties of naphthyl selenides are discussed. Theoretical calculations and cyclic voltammetry (CV) studies were carried out to compare the bonding nature of carboranyl and analogous aryl selenium compounds. Cyclic voltammetry studies of naphthyl carboranyl mono and diselenides have shown that the carboranyl fragment polarizes the Se lone pair making it less prone to generate a Se-Se bond.This work was supported by the Japan-Spain Research Cooperative Program, Joint Project, 2004JP0102 from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and CSIC, CICYT (CTQ2010-16237) and the Generalitat de Catalunya, 2009/SGR/00279. Dr O. Guzyr is grateful to Ministerio Education, Cultura y Deporte for grant SAB2003-0122.Guzyr, O.; Viñas, C.; Wada, H.; Hayashi, S.; Nakanishi, W.; Teixidor, F.; Vaca Puga, A.... (2011). Synthesis, structural, spectroscopic and electrochemical studies of carborane substituted naphthyl selenides. Dalton Transactions. 40(13):3402-3411. https://doi.org/10.1039/c0dt01658fS34023411401